Please Forgive Me
by mayonakanotaiyou
Summary: One night someone buys Nanao a drink, which causes her to cross the line into what she believes is inappropriate conduct for a fukutaichou, and thus punishes herself harshly in the end. Enter Haruki, the physical manifestation of her mistake. NanaShun
1. Chapter 1

x-x-x-EDIT-x-x-x _Someone pointed out some typos and I noticed that one of the lines I wrote had been deleted. So I went back in and added it. Sorry for the errors. m(- -)m_

Disclaimer: Creative property of Kubo Tite…yada yada yada….I just mess around with 8-bantai.

**Please Forgive Me**

Nanao awoke one morning to find the sun shining directly in her face yet feeling chilly. She opened one eye and rolled over, her nails scratching the fibers of the tatami mat lightly as she searched for her glasses. As soon as she felt the thin metal frame, she sat up and was rewarded with a throbbing pain that seemed to fill her entire cranium and was pounding on her inner ear to escape. She dropped the glasses in her lap and clutched her forehead, massaging one temple with her right index and middle finger.

"_I must have forgotten to close the curtain last night,_" she thought as she picked up her glasses. "_What happened…?"_

Nanao pushed the round frames onto her face and nearly fainted at the first thing she saw. Her taichou was passed out next to her, his haori haphazardly cast onto a nearby chair, his shirtless tanned torso half peeking out from the sheets one arm draped over his chest as he snored quietly. Fearing the worst, she looked down in horror as she was rewarded with the shock of her life as she noticed her own state of dress, or lack thereof. Her first instinct had been to scream, but all she managed was a choke that was as faint as a gasp.

"_This can't be happening…This can't be happening…"_

She felt dizzy, her hands were trembling, the room was spinning and her head was pounding. She grabbed her top and put it on hastily to cover herself up. Skittering to the edge of the room in an effort to put as much distance between her and the sleeping naked man, the 8-bantai fukutaichou was panting, nearly hyperventilating as she braced herself against the wall in an effort to get to her feet.

"_Where is my hakama?"_ she thought as her heart beat wildly, threatening to leap from her chest to its death. Spotting her clothing draped over a potted plant, she staggered over to retrieve the rest of her uniform. Ignoring the splitting headache, she managed to quietly gather most of her possessions.

"_What should I do? If I go out the door, he'll definitely wake up…"_ Nanao scanned the room, praying her taichou would not wake up, before noticing an open sliding door in the kitchen. Feeling as if she would lose the contents of her stomach soon, she gathered up whatever she could find before slipping out and rushing back to her own quarters.

Using her shunpo, she made it back in record time without being spotted by anyone. However, as soon as her feet came to a standstill, that sickening feeling returned and she rushed to the bathroom with her hand clasped over her mouth. After heaving up the contents of her stomach for several minutes, she congratulated herself for having made it to the toilet. Propping herself up with one arm and sort of leaning over the toilet, she watched the water swirl down as she flushed what felt like had been all her internal organs.

Standing there for several more moments, her hair soaked from the sweat running down her face and her eyes so puffy and watery she could barely see, her nose runny and her stomach threatening with several more rounds of dry heaving, her other arm managed to reach the faucet and turn on the hot water. Nanao shrugged her haphazardly worn uniform off and forced herself under the shower head. No sooner had she started washing herself, when she felt herself lose consciousness as she sank to her knees with the water running down her back.

0-0-0-0-0

_She was walking down the hall after work._

"_Nanao-chan! Nanao-chan!" called Matsumoto running up to her from behind._

"_Matsumoto-fukutaichou, what can I do for you?" she asked._

"_Always so stiff and formal."_

"_I prefer polite."_

"_Hey, Nanao-chan," Matsumoto started, ignoring Nanao's comment and tugging on her arm. "Come on, let's go—"_

"_Go where—"_

"_Party! It's Friday night! Come on, you'll enjoy yourself. Food, drinks, lots of people—"_

"_I'll pass—"_

"_Aww, come on, Nanao-chan. Don't you wanna relax and just hang out with everyone?"_

"_That's okay, I've got work to do?"_

"_But it's Friday! It can wait 'til Monday. Okay, how about a drink?"_

"_I don't drink—"_

"_But you eat—"_

"_That's okay, I'll have something at home—"_

"_But—"_

"_Good night, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Enjoy your weekend," she bowed, opening the door and leaving Matsumoto at the entrance._

"_Party-pooper," frowned Matsumoto, pouting with her hands on her hips._

0-0-0-0-0

_Yet she somehow found herself in a party setting. There were lots of other shinigami around. A welcome party or something? She searched for a familiar face, but many of the faces seemed to be new. Then she spotted Matsumoto from across the room, having a chugging contest with Ikkaku and Renji. The room was loud and lively. She felt out of place, but since she came all the way out, she figured she could at least have something to drink._

_Just as she sat at the bar and was about to order a cup of tea, the bartender came over and set a glass filled with a reddish juice in front of her._

"_Courtesy of that table," he said gesturing in the direction of six rather noisy tables._

"_Oh, um—" she stammered, and by the time she got around to asking which patron had sent the drink over, the bartender had disappeared. "Well, I suppose it would be rude not to drink it."_

_Taking a sip, she found the liquid to be cool, sweet, and refreshing. In no time, she had consumed the entire glass, figuring it was just juice. About 10 minutes later, she felt warm, as if her entire body was flushed with a fever. Not a bad sensation, just uncomfortable. Then she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror behind the bar and noticed she was indeed red as a lobster._

"_Better go splash some water or something," she thought, as she stood up from the stool. As soon as she stood up, the room seemed to be in some sort of surreal mode, where colors and sounds swirled together and her feet felt like they were made of jelly, causing her to wobble rather oddly as she tried to make her way to the bathroom. _

0-0-0-0-0

"_Yo! Nanao-chan, what a surprise to see you here!" waved Ukitake as he passed by her on his way to the bar. "Hey are you all right? You're bright red, you know?"_

_The white haired taichou stopped in front of her and put his cool fingers against her forehead. She said nothing as she felt herself slip backwards just from his touch, her body powerless to keep her from crashing to the floor._

"_Whoa!" cried Ukitake, reaching out to catch her. "You don't look so good. Maybe you should go ho—"_

"_Hey, what's the big idea sneaking off for some action without me, Sexy?" called a drunk Shunsui, stumbling past the pair, nearly tripping over himself as he tried to grab onto the 13-bantai taichou's shoulder. "Now who's this young lady?"_

"_That would be Nanao-chan," sighed Ukitake, doing his best to support Shunsui, who still leaning on his shoulder, but currently ignoring Ukitake and ordering another pitcher of alcohol. _

"_Oh, Nanao-chan?" said Shunsui, his back facing Ukitake as he told the bartender to have the pitcher sent over to the rowdy table in the back. "Same name as my fukutaichou…Just for that, let me buy you a drink!"_

"_Ukitake-taichou!" interrupted a low-ranking shinigami, stumbling and leaching onto Ukitake. "Kyouraku-taichou! Misa-chan is about to take a shot out of Rika-chan's navel! You better come or you'll miss it! Oh and they told me to tell you that Hideo's puking his guts out in the hallway. That last chug must have done it—"_

"_I'll go see if Hideo's all right," the sensitive 13-bantai taichou said, following the younger shinigami that interrupted them, shoving Nanao into her taichou's surprised arms. "Take care of Nanao-chan! I'll be back!"_

"_But what about Misa-chan and Rika-chan!" protested Shunsui._

"_Just watch her 'til I straighten things out!" Ukitake called, disappearing around a corner, leaving the inebriated pair at a table near the bar. _

0-0-0-0-0

Nanao awoke with the shower gone cold, beating down on her back. Her hair masked her face, dripping onto the smooth shiny white tub. Her left hand was numb. She turned off the water and pulled her fluffy white towel to dry herself. After she had squeezed out her hair and wiped her face, she put on her glasses and looked at herself in the full length mirror next to her bathroom.

She swallowed slowly and took in the sight of a couple of large bruises on her inner thigh and several on her neck and breasts. Amazingly she had not noticed them or felt them for that matter until she had dried herself down. She had been sliced open by hollows before, but somehow these bruises felt like they hurt many times more than the time a hollow ran its claws through her abdomen.

Nanao had ended up naked at her taichou's residence. Her memory may have been jumpy and foggy, but there were parts that she did remember clearly. She could only pray that when he woke up, he would not remember what happened. Surely since she had left before he woke up Saturday morning, that he would simply dismiss it all as drunken hallucinations and unfulfilled fantasies.

She could not believe that her body and mind had been acting completely different like the old cliché. Her mind was screaming 'no' but her body did not seem to mind despite her efforts to tell it to behave. After that one drink and being left alone with her taichou, who was also rather drunk, from what she could gather from her muddled memory, they went somewhere, had more alcohol, then he offered to walk her home. Then half way home he realized he forgot his haori. They went back to get it and started fighting on the way to her apartment. Then the next thing she knew, his lips were sucking at her neck and she was not exactly fighting him off.

It was around this time that she remembered now why she did not consume alcohol. A mere whiff of the stuff made her go funny. And now she had gone and crossed the line and slept with her superior. Some mysterious person goes and buys her a drink and she goes and ruined her entire career. Wonderful. Just great. Mixed feelings and suppressed memories were beginning to resurface.

'_Trust, loyalty, discipline. Nanao, if you remember nothing else, remember these three words.'_

She knew what she had to do. 'Taichou, I hope you can forgive me…"

0-0-0-0-0

Shunsui lay on the roof basking in the morning sun, the earthy tiles warming his back nicely as he chewed on a blade of grass that fortunately was not poisonous on this gorgeous Monday morning. Today was the first Monday of the month, which meant that he was trying to avoid doing all the tasks that he detested the most and involved the most paperwork. Ever since he became a taichou, he has tried to avoid working on the first Monday of the month, meaning that Nanao usually has to find him and threaten him to work (as Nanao-chan does not beg unlike his previous fukutaichou).

"Nanao-chan should be up here within the hour to come and bug me about those reports that I haven't done yet," he sighed as he watched the clouds from under his large straw hat. He closed his eyes and scratched his beard thoughtfully as he pondered whether the cafeteria was serving pork or chicken for the special of the day.

The hour came and went. No sign of Nanao.

"_Hmm, that's strange. She must be really busy this morning_," he thought as he scratched his back and resumed his nap.

Another hour passed and it was practically time for lunch. An old friend whom he had not seen in a while dropped by and called him down for lunch. Then of course he got distracted, and to make a long story short, ended up taking a three-hour lunch. Whoops. Nanao was definitely going to shish kebab him later. If she did not notice in the morning, she would definitely notice in the afternoon when those reports became more urgent.

Shunsui decided that he did not really want to be around for a pissed off Nanao, so he went over to the 13-bantai headquarters and asked about Ukitake, figuring if his good friend were not in good health (or even if he were having one of his better days) that the 13-bantai taichou could use a bit of company (which could thereby be used as an excuse for making himself scarce). What a saint he was for being a role model for good inter-bantai relations!

Ukitake was indeed having one of his better days and was able to take Shunsui's mind off of the 'stress' of not completing any work. Nanao did not stop by, trying to look for him with Ukitake trying to hide him from her. In fact, no one stopped by calling for the MIA taichou. His light haired friend asked him if he should be spending so much time away from the office, but Shunsui dismissed his worries, deducing that she must just been having a busy day being in meetings all day and that looking for her was just asking for trouble.

Monday became Tuesday and by four in the afternoon, Shunsui, though he did not look it, was looking a little worried with his brow slightly furrowed as he lay on the grassy side of his favorite hill overlooking the park. He was not hiding in any place different. Nanao knew where he was 90 percent of the time and for some reason was able to correctly deduce where he was hiding out without having to search the entire Seireitei for him. A fact that always puzzled him and if he was someone who were easily annoyed, he probably would have been extremely bothered by that—luckily he was not. Very few things phased this taichou, but at the same time, was he really that easy to predict?

Shunsui started to wander back towards his office, sauntering down the path that passed through the park. He was in no hurry really as he took a swig of sake, sighing as the gentle breeze rustled the thick waxy leaves of the many trees that lined that particular park.

"Good work, Azuma!" he waved genially, as he strolled into the complex, over an hour later.

"Kyouraku-taichou, good evening," bowed the guardian outside of the building as Shunsui passed him and entered the double doors.

"Hey, Yumi-chan," he called, walking over to the attractive young secretary that was just packing up her things.

"Ah, Kyouraku-taichou, what a pleasant surprise," she smiled politely, placing her empty lunch container into her purse before slinging it on her shoulder. "You haven't been here in awhile. Have you been ill or something?"

"Me? Ill? No, no, no. Nothing like that. Though if I were feeling ill, just seeing your concern for me would heal me of all ails," he said, lifting the counter for her and bowing chivalrously.

"You are too kind, Kyouraku-taichou," she smiled.

"Anything for the best secretary here," he replied as he returned the counter to its normal position after she had exited. "Yumi-chan, may I ask you something before you go?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Have you seen Nanao-chan today?"

"Today? Hmmm," she said, her eyes looking up as she recalled the day's activities. "No, I can't say I've seen Ise-fukutaichou today. Maybe she went on that fukutaichou training. Wait, no, this month is 9 to 13, so 8-bantai should have already completed their training. Let's see, several members of 5-bantai were dispatched to the Material World today, there were no meetings for the Shinigami Women's Association on account of fukutaichou training, and no one called in sick today…hmm…."

"It's okay, thanks, Yumi-chan. You're a doll. She's probably out and about. I'll go up and look for her."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of assistance to you."

"No worries. Take care. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night. Don't work too hard, Kyouraku-taichou," she said sweetly as she walked down the hall towards the exit.

"She's the only one who tells me that and means it," he sighed, pretending to brush away a tear of happiness. "Okay, let's see… Nanao-chan."

Shunsui wandered down the hall.

"Nanao-chan! Yoo-hoo, Nanao-chan!" he called, as he ambled down the quiet corridor. He peeked in several of the open offices and rooms all with no sign of the petite fukutaichou. When he arrived at his own office, he noticed that the light was off. Well, no sense in wasting electricity when he was not even there half the time anyway, right? He passed his own office and proceeded to hers at the end of the hall and was about to burst in and scare her, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Locked? Hmm…how odd," he muttered as he tried to force the door open, rattling the wooden door rather loudly.

"Nanao-chan! Oi, open up, Nanao-chan! Knock, kno-----ck! Hello? It's me!"

He continued to shake the door and had this been in the middle of the day, he would have looked quite suspicious. Then he realized that there was no beam of light coming from the crack between the door and the wood floor. He really was a genius when it came to these things. "Brilliant. Okay, where else would she be? LIBRARY! Time for a shortcut!"

Shunsui, jumped out of the window at the end of the hall, completely ignoring the sign that said to refrain from jumping out the windows and tracking dirt onto the window sills, and proceeded to run up the side of the wall, until he could jump into the one exactly one floor above where he started.

"Whew!" he said as he landed quietly on the second floor. He turned a corner and was right in front of the east library, a branch that his fukutaichou often frequented. Then he heard the sound of the heavy metal door swing open, footsteps, then the sound of the bolt sliding into the chamber as it clicked shut. "Nanao-chan?"

"Kyouraku-taichou, what are you doing here so late at night?"

"Oh, Shiro-chan?" Shunsui called, running over to the child prodigy, ignoring his question.

"You must be spending too much time with Ukitake-taichou," Hitsugaya muttered.

"Good timing, here," the 8-bantai taichou said, pulling out a bag of candy from his uniform. "Sexy boy told me to give you these. I just saw him yesterday."

"I appreciate the gesture," Hitsugaya sighed as he accepted the bag of assorted hard candies. "He really must take me for a 10-year old…."

"What are you doing here at the library so late at night?"

"Locking up the library," the shorter taichou said, holding up a pair of keys. "I'm usually the last one to leave."

"Wow, that's a pretty antiquated system they got for locking up a library with rare documents…"

"It's pretty unusual for you to be here this late, Kyouraku-taichou," commented Hitsugaya, reminding the flamboyantly dressed taichou of his original purpose. "Did you need to look at a document or something?"

"Is there anyone else in there?" Shunsui asked, pointing to the library.

"No, I check the library before I lock it up. I was the last one today."

"Oh," he said, disappointment heavy in his voice.

"Why? What, did you lose your fukutaichou or something?" Hitsugaya smirked, deciding to tease the scruffy taichou to get him back for the 'Shiro-chan' comment.

"You've seen Nanao-chan?" he said, perking up.

"Ise-fukutaichou?" Hitsugaya said, running his fingers through his short spiked hair as he closed his eyes. "Ise-fukutaichou…Ise-fukutaichou….hmm…nope."

Shunsui sighed. "I've looked EVERYWHERE. My office, her office…There's nowhere else to look. You wouldn't happen to know where else she might be?"

Hitsugaya stared at the older man with one eyebrow cocked for several moments. "Well, she might still be here, but I didn't see anyone while I was walking up here just a minute ago to close up. Why don't you just come early tomorrow and then there's no chance you'll miss her or anything right?"

"I guess you're right. Well, I have been lying around all day. I better go do some exercise—"

"Exercise…?"

"My liver. It's the hardest working part of my body. Well, better hit the bar before it gets too late. Don't wanna miss her tomorrow. Night, shortie," Shunsui yawned and waved before walking towards the window he came out of. In typical high ranking shinigami fashion, the gaudy pink haori wearing taichou climbed up on the sill and leaped out of the window, his pink haori flapping behind him wildly as he disappeared into the night.

0-0-0-0-0

When Shunsui woke up, his whole body felt numb and tingly. Then he realized he had fallen asleep sitting up—again. Scratching the side of his face as he rubbed his eyes and prayed for his body to start circulating blood again, his eyes focused and he realized he was leaning on the wall outside of an apartment complex. This was not his apartment complex. He checked his arms and legs and felt his face—no bruises, no flower pots, pans, or signs that his presence had been unwelcome.

When he finally pulled himself up, his joints popped angrily in response to the proper blood circulation. He looked around. These apartments were not marked or labeled.

"Must have just wandered here drunk last night and crashed," he yawned to himself. He looked out at the sun and deduced that by judging from its position, it was well past ten in the morning. So much for being early.

"_Well, since I'm already late, I guess I may as well go home and take a shower_," he thought, as he walked towards the main road.

Two and half hours later, he showed up at his office, clean and hangover free.

"Nanao-chan!" he called, knocking on her door first, before trying the handle. "Still locked, huh? How odd…"

Shunsui shuffled into his office, wondering where his favorite fukutaichou had disappeared to. Sighing as he pushed some papers off the couch, he took off his haori and hat and plopped himself on the couch. After several moments, he wandered over to his desk, opened the top drawer and took a package of candies Matsumoto had brought him from the Material World and stuck them into the large dish on the coffee table.

He took one from the dish and unwrapped the tiny morsel when he returned to his desk. No sooner had he pulled out his chair, when a plain white envelope fell to the floor, catching his attention.

The 8-bantai taichou picked it up and turned it over curiously. He ran his finger under the sealed flap and pulled out several folded sheets of paper.

"_Kyouraku-taichou, today is probably Wednesday_," greeted the neat brushed characters. "_This Monday was the first Monday of the month, so you probably tried to avoid work, waiting for me to come and harass you about everything. You were probably on the roof in the morning, and then fled to Ukitake-taichou in the afternoon. Tuesday, you probably came to the office sometime around closing after no one came to coerce you into doing any work all day. Then you went to the bar, overslept and finally came to your office Wednesday afternoon._"

Shunsui smiled as this note almost predicted his actions perfectly.

"_I just wanted to tell you_," he read. "_Thank you for everything up until now…._"

"Thank you for everything…?" he repeated, puzzled. He flipped to the next page.

"_Effective immediately, I, Ise Nanao, hereby resign from my duties as 8-bantai fukutaichou,_" read the next page on the official stationery complete with her red seal and the date.

Shunsui flipped to the final page.

"_I return to you the key in which you have entrusted to me._"

He turned the envelope over and sure enough, out slid the key. Grabbing the key, he ran down the hall, thrust the brass piece of metal into the jagged hole and threw open the door to find the room pristine. There was not a single personal effect in the room. While Nanao had used the office, it was spotless, but it did have a few sparse personal touches to it like a flower arrangement or two or a scroll hanging.

But now, there were only the fixtures that had come with the room. The shelves only contained reports regarding their particular bantai and the cabinets, he assumed contained her meticulously organized files also pertaining to the bantai. Shunsui walked over to the desk, which had been cleared save for the white plaque that had been on the outside of her office that read, 'OFFICE #120: 8-BANTAI FUKUTAICHOU, ISE NANAO.'

X-X-X-X-X

_I honestly don't know what to do with this. I know it is pure crap. This was just me trying to link a bunch of random drabbles together in hopes of creating a story. I know I haven't updated my other stuff in a while, but I just felt compelled to unite the many drabbles that were sorta hanging out on my desktop. Sorry for the spam… Mayonaka no Taiyou_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Creative property of Kubo Taito, except Haruki.

**Please Forgive Me – Chapter 2**

_Some time later…_

"Number 83-B," called the secretary. A lean, serious young man with short dark curly hair walked up and she handed him a slim file. "Mid-term evaluation, right?"

"Yes."

"Second door on the left."

"Thank you," he said, proceeding to the conference room. He knocked twice.

"Pardon the interruption," he said opening the door.

There sat a scruffy looking man in a pink haori at the large polished desk. He gestured to the seat in front of him and the young clean shaven man walked over. Handing him the folder that the secretary had given him, the older man stood up and introduced himself.

"8-bantai taichou, Kyouraku Shunsui," he said bowing grandiosely. "Good afternoon. Have a seat."

He sat down and clutched his hakama nervously.

"What's your name?" Shunsui asked, opening up the file.

"Itou Haruki, sir," he said quietly.

"Hmm?" Shunsui said looking closely at the boy sitting in front of him. "Okay, Haruki. Why did you want to become a shinigami?"

"Money."

"Hmm, money, eh?" Shunsui said closing the file and tossing it to the side. "Could you elaborate on that?"

"I want to be rich. They tell me shinigami are well compensated and at the top of the social hierarchy. They have the most opportunities afforded to them."

"Well researched, boy," drawled Shunsui, scratching his beard. "Somehow I don't feel moved by those words, though. You seem like you're here for a completely different reason. Your words may cite riches as the reason you are here, but your aura speaks otherwise. What are you really here to accomplish? Certainly not for personal fame or glory from what people say about the kind, helpful prodigy at the top of the class."

"I think by citing money, you are more likely to judge me on my actual abilities rather than my personal situation. My abilities should be the sole determinant of whether or not I should become a shinigami or not. My personal situation has nothing to do with my abilities."

"That's a rather negative outlook," sighed Shunsui. "Not completely unheard of or unoriginal, but certainly one I have not heard in a long time. Let's put it this way, on paper, from what your folder says, you are at the top of your class with tremendous potential as a shinigami, and by all rights should enter the ranks of the Gotei 13. But what I would like to know is what motivates you and what will continue to motivate you and those around you everyday for as long as you are a shinigami, protecting the freedom of the Soul Society? Let me ask you, if there was only one person you could protect, who would it be?"

"One person?" Haruki said, visibly tensing. "My mother, I suppose."

"Why is that?" asked Shunsui leaning forward.

"I love my mother more than anyone else in the world. She has worked her whole life to raise me the best that she could. She never asked for anything in return, nor did she expect anything. I was such a punk when I was a kid and caused her a lot of trouble. She's sick now with tuberculosis and we live really far from the Seireitei. Our town doesn't have anyone who knows how to treat tuberculosis, so the doctor told us that she would die soon if we don't get her some proper treatment. She doesn't know that I'm trying to become a shinigami, but I want her to have the best treatment available."

Haruki looked up, his eyes slightly glassy.

"Where's your father?"

"I don't know. I think he may have passed away before I was born. My mother doesn't talk about him. I remember asking her once and she became really sad when I was a kid. It's really only been the two of us, which is why I need to become a shinigami, earn lots of money, and bring her here for treatment."

"Has anyone told you how bright and intense your eyes are?" asked Shunsui looking into the boy's eyes.

"Huh?"

"No, I'm sorry, they just reminded me of someone I once knew."

"No, it's alright, people always comment on them. Indigo eyes were unusual in the town I was raised in, but I guess it's the same here too, huh? They're the same as my mother."

"How is your eyesight?" asked Shunsui curiously, standing up.

"Fine, now, why?"

"Now?"

"Well, when I was little, my eyes were bad and I refused to wear my glasses. One day my eyesight got visibly worse and while I was playing, I got into an accident. When I woke up, I had broken my leg and arm, but my mother said she had gotten a doctor to fix my eyes too with some sort of surgery. So now I have nearly perfect vision, why?"

"Does your mother possess any reiryoku?"

"Reiryoku? She said she doesn't, but I know she does."

"How do you know?"

"When I first came here, I didn't realize that you actually needed to have a lot of reiryoku to be able to become a shinigami in the first place. I was so naïve that I thought that any one who put in the effort could become one. I was picked on for being so naïve and the upperclassmen were chucking stuff at me, yelling for me to go back to my hometown, but by a stroke of good luck, a high-ranking shinigami with long white hair saved me. He told me that my reiryoku had been sealed away."

"Sealed away?"

"Yeah, he said someone had sealed away my reiryoku to the point where it was almost undetectable and that any one but high-ranking shinigami who were sensitive to spirit energies would have thought I didn't have any. No one in my town has any and I'm the first to enter the Shinigami Academy. But anyway, the guy broke the seal for me and wished me good luck."

"Do you have a photo of your mother by any chance?"

Haruki looked at Shunsui for several moments as if the taichou in front of him were crazy.

"No, not with me, why? And why are you asking me all these questions about me and my mother?"

"Perhaps you can help me. I've been looking for an old friend," said Shunsui, reaching into his uniform as he returned to his seat behind the desk. He pushed a yellowed photo with a diagonal crease through it that was starting to become ragged around the edges across the desk to Haruki.

The photo showed the headshot of a young female shinigami with indigo eyes, round glasses, and her hair pinned back and her bangs swept to the side. Haruki picked up the photo and stared at it for several moments. His eyes widening, he slowly returned the photo and swallowed several times.

"That's my mother," he whispered. "Do you know my mother?"

Shunsui returned the picture to his uniform and looked out the window. "If your mother is the person in that photo, yes. And if you don't mind, I would like to bring her a doctor. I know a specialist that treats a friend of mine. Can you meet me at the front gate in half an hour?"

Haruki, shocked, managed to stutter an acknowledgement that he understood.

"No time to lose. We can finish when we come back. Getting the doctor to your mother is the priority," Shunsui said, walking out of the conference room. "_Hold on, Nanao-chan…_"

0-0-0-0-0

Shunsui, Haruki, and the specialist arrived in the sleepy town at the edge of the 32nd ward to the east the next morning. Haruki, leading them to the tiny cottage on the hill at the edge of the town, took the key from his pocket and opened the gate.

"I'm home!" Haruki called. Shunsui and the doctor quietly followed the young shinigami.

"Haruki, you're back," wheezed the town physician, as he bumped into Haruki at the door. "I just came to check on your mother."

"How is she, sensei?" asked Haruki, his voice full of concern. "I brought a friend who knows a specialist—"

The old man shook his head. "Not good, Haruki," he said holding the door open for him.

"Kaa-san!" Haruki shouted, forgetting about his guests and rushing to her bedroom. "Kaa-san!"

"Haruki," Nanao said, her voice cracking. "I told you, no running and shouting in the house."

"Don't worry, I brought someone who can cure you," Haruki said, gesturing to the door.

It was at this moment, Shunsui walked in with the doctor. Nothing could have prepared Shunsui for the second shock of his life. There lay the former 8-bantai fukutaichou, her hair down and spread about her pillow, her face pale and angular from having lost 15 kilos from her already lean frame.

"Kyouraku-taichou," she whispered, trying to prop herself up with the low table next to her futon with little success.

"Nanao-chan," he said, rushing to her side and dropping to his knees. "No stay where you are. Sensei, please."

The specialist nodded and began setting up next to the futon.

"Haruki, where are your manners!" wheezed Nanao, throwing her fan at her son. "Go get them something to drink!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Haruki apologized, scrambling off to the kitchen. "I'm going!"

"I'm sorry I could not get up to greet you properly, Kyouraku-taichou."

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui said quietly, staring into her eyes and picking up her cool bony hand. "I've been looking for you. Why did you leave?"

"…-taichou, I'm so sorry for leaving so suddenly," she started, as the doctor began his examination. "I know you were looking for me. I was watching you."

"You were watching me?"

"The Friday I left work, Matsumoto-fukutaichou was trying to get me to participate in her drinking party. I refused, but I had realized I forgot to tell you to a message Ukitake-tiachou asked me to relay, so I went to the bar I knew you would be at. While I was there, someone sent over a drink. I thought it was juice, but it was actually alcohol and because I have no alcohol tolerance, by the time I met you and Ukitake-taichou, I was already spinning from the effects of the drink.

You were so drunk and when Ukitake-taichou left to do damage control, you bought me more alcohol. Because I was so plastered, I kept drinking. Finally when you decided to walk me back to my apartment, we walked halfway there before you realized you forgot your haori. You made a big fuss about going back to get it and I got angry. We started fighting and then you leaned over and kissed me. We went to your apartment and—"

"Kaa-san," Haruki said, poking his head into the room. "I'm sorry, I slipped and dropped the tea on the floor. I cleaned it up, but that was the last tea bag. I'm going out to buy more."

Nanao nodded and watched Haruki scamper off before continuing her story.

"We went to your apartment and well…" she trailed off.

"Oh my god, I took advantage of you didn't I, Nanao-chan?" exclaimed Shunsui as the realization sunk in. "I'm so sorry, Nanao-chan—"

"No, it's not—"

"I'm a terrible person and you've had to live with this painful memory—"

"It's not only—"

"I can't believe I—"

"LISTEN!" she said, grabbing another fan from the table and whacking the 8-bantai taichou on the side of the head. "Yes, we had sex, but it wasn't only your fault. The world does not revolve around you! It's not like I was fighting you off. My body was responding to the situation and while it wasn't like I consented, I wasn't exactly not enjoying the experience."

"So then why did you leave?"

"I was scared and embarrassed when I woke up and I prayed that you would not remember anything when you woke up. Then I thought that if you did remember, I would not be able to face you, so I packed my things that Saturday, cleaned out my office on Sunday, and wrote my resignation."

"But where did you go?"

"Well, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone and I couldn't very well go back to my hometown, so I rented an apartment under a fake name until I figured out what I was going to do."

"You disappeared overnight without a trace. I searched everywhere for any trace of you. But you already had a head start because you knew that I wouldn't find that note for three days, by which time you had already closed your bank account, taken your file, slowly suppressed your reiatsu until you were radiating nothing, and made it seem like you never existed."

"I stayed in that apartment, watching you from a distance and trying to plan out what I would do next for two months. Then as it rolled into the third month, I realized that I could no longer stay in the Seireitei. I had to disappear."

Nanao looked out the open window at Haruki picking some fruit from the garden, shining the apples on his favorite sleeveless shirt that he knew his mother hated, but was perfect for the warm weather they were experiencing that morning. He whistled brightly as he chased after an apple he dropped as it rolled down the edge of the hill.

"I realized that I was pregnant and decided to start over anew somewhere else."

"Why didn't you come back then?" asked Shunsui, his face ridded with guilt.

Nanao closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she reached up and traced his strong jaw line with her index finger.

"To protect you, Kyouraku-taichou. Can you imagine the scandal? It would look like you raped me because I always fight off your advances and keep you from crossing that line. It would destroy your reputation—and if we became a couple it would look like we were only doing it because I got pregnant. And if we didn't do anything and prayed that people wouldn't notice, it would look like you were trying to cover everything up and were intimidating me into silence. I couldn't see why we both had to lose our credibility. If I stayed, someone would eventually find out, so I had to disappear.

I decided that Ise Nanao would disappear and I would change my last name to Itou and began my search for a quiet place to raise the baby, so I walked until I reached this town, wandering for 6 months, essentially sealing my reiatsu and power forever. When I came here, I was able to buy a small plot of land with the money I still had left and took odd jobs until Haruki was born."

"Why did you name him Haruki?"

"I named him after you of course. The kun-yomi for "shun" is "haru" and I knew that he would always shine brilliantly, so I used the on-yomi for "kagayaku" to make Haruki (春輝)—"

"You called?" smiled Haruki, bringing in a tray of iced barley tea and a large bowl of sliced apples and pears. "I'm sorry for the wait. I saw Murase-baachan and her grandkids at the market and they begged me to play hopscotch with them. And then Gotou-san wanted me to help him load his cart. And well, to make a long story short, I got a little distracted… Here's some tea and fruit."

Haruki sheepishly set them down on the table next to Nanao and began pouring the tea into the cups.

"Please, Sensei, Kyouraku-taichou," he said, pushing the cups to his guests.

"It's not much," said Nanao, gesturing to the plate. "Please help yourselves."

Haruki stood up and opened the window on the opposite side of the room, taking a moment to close his eyes and enjoy the breeze.

"Let me get your lunch, kaa-san," Haruki said, returning to his mother's side.

"Haruki, it's all right," Nanao assured him. "I'm not hungry—"

"No, it's not!" argued Haruki. "You gotta eat so you don't get worse!"

Haruki ran off to bring the tray he had prepared for her, as Shunsui helped her sit up.

"This fruit is absolutely scrumptious," commented the doctor. "You can't get fruit this fresh in the Seireitei—"

"Sensei," whispered Nanao, turning to the doctor, who was currently enjoying a crisp slice of apple. "Please be honest with me. I know I don't have much time. Please tell me…"

"Ise-san, you know that Ukitake-taichou battles the same illness as yourself. However, to be perfectly honest, since you have gone so long without treatment, the tuberculosis has progressed to a stage in which medicine as we know and understand it, can no longer do anything to help you. All I can do is prescribe medication to alleviate the symptoms."

"Sensei, how long does she have?" asked Shunsui worriedly.

"Optimistically," he sighed. "I would say three to six months. But realistically, her body is so weak that she probably has less than two months. I'm terribly sorry I could not be of any further assistance."

"No, it is I who should be thanking you and Kyouraku-taichou for coming all the way out here," whispered Nanao, slowly taking a sip of tea.

"I will leave you these for alleviating the coughing, fever, and malaise," he said, bowing. "Kyouraku-taichou, I must head back to the Seireitei for another appointment. Please take care of yourself, Ise-san."

"Will you tell him?" asked Shunsui, as he helped the doctor with his bags. "Come, doctor, I'll walk you out…I'll be back, Nanao-chan."

At this time Haruki brought in the tray of steaming food.

"Haruki, I'll be back," called Shunsui. He's gotta go back to the Seireitei, so I'm gonna walk him out."

"Thank you very much for coming," bowed Haruki, before placing Nanao's lunch of okayu (rice gruel) and pickled vegetables on the table next to her.

"Haruki," whispered Nanao. "Come sit over here."

"What is it, kaa-san?"

"Haruki, I just talked to the doctor. He says I don't have much time, less than two months—"

"No—"

"Haruki," she said sternly. "What did I say about being disrespectful?"

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Now listen. The doctor said the tuberculosis has progressed too far for him to do anything and that my time is very short. No, no crying, now…Kyouraku-taichou."

She beckoned Shunsui, who had just appeared in the doorway.

"Kyouraku-taichou, could you please open that closet and lift the board on the floor?"

Shunsui opened the closet and found a tiny hole with which he pulled open what appeared to be a trap door of some sort. He pulled out a medium sized box and handed it to Nanao.

"Haruki, I know you've gone and become a shinigami," she whispered, touching his soft chocolate curls.

"How did you know?!" he shouted incredulously. "I mean I took off my uniform and everything. I mean, yes, I brought this taichou back here, but that doesn't mean that I'm friends or anything with shinigami."

"You are leaking reiatsu everywhere when you should be leaking none. I'm surprised you weren't attacked by hollows on your way here," she said flatly before taking her fan and smacking her son in the head. "Can't you be more careful?! What did I tell you?!"

"I'm sorry, kaa-san, but I just wanted to help you—"

"Help me by bringing the hollows back here every time you come home?! You know no one has any reiryoku here!!"

"Ouch! Ouch! I'm sorry…"

"That's Nanao-chan for you," smiled Shunsui, sitting next to his former fukutaichou who he was glad still had some of her spunk left.

Nanao opened the box and took out a black cloth, which she unrolled, to reveal was her old shinigami uniform along with several other items, one of them being a small dagger.

"Haruki, come closer. See this?" she said, picking the weapon up. "This is my zanpakutou. I haven't used it since you were born. But I want to impart on you one final thing, so come closer."

Haruki inched closer to his mother, his deep indigo eyes staring into hers. Nanao closed her eyes and focused her dormant reiatsu into the bladed weapon before plunging it into Haruki's chest. Her whole body glowed for one bright moment before sending a warm ray of energy into Haruki's chest. She pulled out her zanpakutou and Haruki regained consciousness and was rather shocked to find himself still in one piece. Nanao slumped and Shunsui caught her limp form.

"What was that?"

"Haruki, that was the last of my reiryoku. I am transferring it to you in hopes that you become the strongest shinigami ever—"

"Kaa-san," sniffled Haruki, his innocent amethyst eyes threatening to overflow with tears.

"No crying, Haruki. You are a man," she scolded. "My parents never had any reiryoku. I was a fluke in genetics. But you are my son with tremendous potential to save and protect those you love. You are my treasure, Haruki, the most important person to me in this world and I will always love you. With this reiryoku, part of me will always be in your heart, so you will never be alone. So be strong and shine like the name I gave you so I may always look down and see you, the brightest in the universe."

Nanao felt her body weakening greatly after the transfer and knew her time coming to a close.

"Kyouraku-taichou," she said, looking up into Shunsui's dark eyes. "Thank you for coming to see me and for bringing Haruki back home one last time. I'm so happy I could see you both. I hope you can forgive me for being so cowardly and selfish and leaving you so suddenly, too embarrassed to face you. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else. It has been an honor to serve under you for all the years that I have. I only wish I could have done more to protect you like you had always done for me—"

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui pleaded, bringing his face closer, tears in the scruffy taichou's warm eyes.

"….taichou, there's my armband with a letter for you," she gasped, as she caressed his face. "Please take them both. Do not worry about Haruki. He was such a troublemaker and rabble rouser when he was a boy, pushing all my buttons, stressing me out and making me worry, much like a certain taichou I know…but he's is a good boy that's grown into a fine man—strong, kind, considerate, intelligent, with a strong sense of justice…"

Shunsui buried his face into her neck, her yukata absorbing his tears, kissing her withering frame, his back to the sun setting behind him.

"…just like his father…" she whispered in his ear, her hand falling to her side, her body stiffening slightly as it lost its warmth, with her zanpakutou glowing brightly before slowly fading away next to her body.

0-0-0-0-0

_Whoa….that took a totally different turn…emo, angst ending!! I'm sorry I killed off Nanao-chan, it just seemed to fit what I wanted to convey with the story. xxx(goes and hides under rock)xxx Please don't kill me…There. Short and bittersweet. Another installment for you NanaShun junkies. But if you all demand more, and want to know the significance of the letter and what will happen with Shunsui and Haruki, scream for an epilogue. Power to the people. Peace out. –Mayonaka no Taiyou_


End file.
